I Swear
by DragonLadyRelena
Summary: It's time for Zechs to take his turn at the microphone. Not as funny as the other two, but there are a couple pleasant surprises for all invovled at the end. R&R, please!


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing, any of the characters, or the song itself. I'm just borrowing them to have a little fun, and am making no money off this songfic. I'm used to it by now, but I still have to say all that so I don't get sued.

**AN:** Well, it's time to Zechs to take his turn and step up to the microphone. I was going to be a little evil, but it played out differently as I wrote it. I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I did writing it. There's a couple of nice surprises in store for a couple of folks, so let me know what you think.

Enough of this stuff. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

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"They're going to start charging us rent if we show up here, one more time," Catherine groused to her friends as they walked toward the karaoke bar.

"Hey, the guys asked us to meet them here," Hilde said, throwing an arm around her shoulders to give her a squeeze.

"They've got to be up to something," Relena muttered, opening the door for the other three girls. "They're hiding something. I can smell it."

"I thought that was your new perfume," Hilde joked, making the others laugh as they walked in. The place was packed, more so than when they'd performed there two months ago. Relena was right: something was _definitely_ up, and their guys seemed to be in the middle of it.

"Miss Noin is here," Dorothy said, pointing across the crowded room. Noin spotted them and stood up to wave them over, smiling as they fought their way through the crowd to get to the table in front of the stage.

"I see you guys have been roped into showing up," she laughed as they sat down.

"We love coming here," Hilde said, a smile splitting her face. Relena shook her head: Hilde was obviously the girl version of Duo, and like the braided pilot, she had a sensible streak hidden under all the playful side of her. "It's got a great atmosphere."

"It's a nice way to unwind, I'll give you that," Catherine allowed with a shrug, "but what in the world are they up to? The guys have been very closed lipped about something, and not just the usual problems. Any idea what they've got planned?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Noin replied, shaking her head a little, "but I _do_ know that Zechs has been making a _lot_ of calls recently."

"Really?" Hilde said, interest lighting her face. An unholy smile touched her lips, taking the place of her playful grin. "Is that so?"

"I thought they were supposed to meet us here," Relena complained, looking around for their guys. Heero had left her a cryptic message to come to the bar tonight, but hadn't said why, only that it was important.

"Oh, they're here, all right," Noin chuckled, leaning back and crossing her legs. "I hitched a ride with them, so I know they're around somewhere." All of a sudden, like when the girls had performed before, the lights suddenly went out. Regulars who'd been there when the girls sang, cheered and whistled, hoping for a repeat performance.

"Ladies and gentleman," the DJ called when everyone had quieted down a little, "for your listening pleasure, I give you the Lightning Count himself, Zechs Merquise!"

"Oh, my God!" Relena giggled, covering her eyes with one hand. She spread her fingers and peered through them at the stage. Zechs was standing alone in the spotlight, looking as unruffled as usual, but dressed differently than Relena had ever seen him. He wore a dark blue sweater, which looked black in the light, the sleeved pushed past his elbows. Dark jeans outlined his legs, flaring only slightly over what looked like brown hiking boots.

The spotlight expanded, revealing Heero, Duo, Quatre and Trowa behind him, dressed much the same, and each of them held a microphone. "What in the world is going on here?" Catherine wondered, but there was smile on her face. She was starting to have her suspicions about what was going on, and she could only hope she was right. With no visible or audible signal, they started singing, a Capella, as the opening of the song demanded.

_I swear by the moon and the stars in the skies_

_I swear like the shadow that's by your side_

Zechs took the opening the verse alone, with the others singing backup. How they'd had time for this, none of the girls knew, but the result was amazing.

_I see the questions in your eyes_

_I know what's weighing on your mind_

_You can be sure I know my heart_

_'Cause I'll stand beside you through the years_

_You'll only cry those happy tears_

_And though I've made mistakes_

_I'll never break your heart_

The guys joined in for the chorus, swaying in time to the music. Zechs never took his eyes off Noin, his heart there for her to see. Both Relena and Noin knew how hard it was for him to show him emotions to others when he was alone, let alone in a room full of strangers. It was a big step for him, and both women had tears in their eyes. They refused to let them fall, though, not wanting to miss a moment of his performance.

_I swear by the moon and the stars in the skies, I'll be there_

_I swear like the shadow that's by your side, I'll be there_

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every beat of my heart_

_I swear_

"It's too bad Sally and Wufei are on a mission," Dorothy whispered to Catherine, keeping her voice down. Catherine nodded.

"Wufei probably wouldn't have joined them," Catherine replied with a smile, "but Sally wouldn't have missed this for the world."

_I'll give you everything I can_

_I'll build your dreams with these two hands_

_We'll hang some memories on the walls_

_And when just the two of us are left_

_You won't have to ask if I still care_

_'Cause as time turns the page_

_My love won't age at all_

_I swear by the moon and the stars in the skies, I'll be there_

_I swear like the shadow that's by your side, I'll be there_

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every beat of my heart_

_I swear_

For the last verse, Zechs took a step or two closer to the edge of the stage, but he didn't step down. The last verse still had to be sung, and he wasn't getting down until it was.

_I swear by the moon and the stars in the skies, I'll be there_

_I swear like the shadow that's by your side, I'll be there_

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every single beat of my heart_

_I swear_

_Oh, I swear_

The applause was absolutely thunderous, almost lifting the roof off the place. The DJ had trouble making himself heard over the cheering, but Zechs and the others stayed on the stage, still as statues. Zechs had yet to look away from Noin and finally raised a hand for silence. It took another minute or two for the crowd to settle down enough for him to be able to talk. Heero made a slight gesture with one hand, catching Relena's attention. "Watch this," he mouthed, flicking his gaze to Zechs before winking at her. Stunned, Relena felt her jaw drop for a moment, but she quickly closed her mouth and transferred her attention back to her brother just as he started speaking.

"Noin, ever since we met, you've helped me in a thousand different ways," Zechs said, finally stepping off the stage and to the table where they were sitting. He slipped one hand into a pocket and closed it around something. "The most important thing you ever did was keep an eye on my sister. I appreciate that more than you'll ever know." He chuckled a little and looked around at the room full of people, every eye fixed on them. "I would have chosen someplace a little more, um, private, for this, but" he went on, dropping to one knee in front of her chair and watching her beautiful eyes go blank with shock, "now is as good a time as any." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and slipped open the black velvet box he held. "I love you, Noin. Will you marry me?"

"If she won't, _I_ will!" a woman shouted when Noin had some trouble getting her voice to work for a moment.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again, Zechs," she answered, holding her lightly trembling left hand toward him, "so I'll just say, absolutely, yes, I'll marry you." He slid the ring onto her finger before pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

"It doesn't get much better than that, folks," the DJ shouted above the cheering and applause that broke out again. "This has been one hell of a night, so I'd like to buy the house a drink. Congratulations, you two! Well done!"

"You _knew_ about this and didn't tell _me_?" Relena demanded when Heero and the others joined them at the table.

"We were sworn to secrecy, Relena," Heero replied with a slight shrug. "Top secret, highest clearance only."

"And we didn't rate?" Hilde and Catherine asked, lifting their eyebrows at Duo and Trowa. Only Dorothy seemed to be handling their exclusion from the plan with good grace. She smiled gently at them before turning to kiss Quatre's cheek, making him blush a little.

"Well done," she whispered to him, letting her approval shine in her eyes. Then humor lit them when she glanced over and saw Zechs and Noin were still occupied. "Hey, get a room, you two!" The newly affianced couple broke apart, Noin blushing as she and Zechs stood to take their seats.

"So, let's see the sparkler," Hilde said, leaning across Duo to get a look at the ring. The stone matched Noin's eyes perfectly and was seemed to grow out of the smooth silver band. "Wow, you sure went all out, didn't you, Zechs?"

"No point in doing it halfway, Hilde," he replied with a laugh. "She's the only woman I want."

"The only one who'll put up with you, you mean," Relena teased, smiling at seeing them both so happy and so in love with each other. "Other than me."

"Don't be mad about being left out, Relena," he told her, reaching over to tousle her hair. "I didn't want to spoil the surprise, not just for Noin, but for you, too."

"What surprise?"

"Yuy arranged the whole thing." Relena's jaw dropped as she turned to stare at Heero, dimly noticing that Catherine, Hilde, Noin and even Dorothy had done the same. Heero shifted in his seat and even blushed a little, a small smile on his face.

"You did this for them?" Relena asked, finally getting her voice to work after a full minute of trying to get something out. She never would have expected such a streak of romance from him, especially given how he acted around Zechs and vice versa, but there was something more than what was on the surface whenever those two were in the same area. Though she wasn't sure he actually _liked_ her brother, Heero had gone above and beyond the call of duty to give the couple something special tonight.

"It was actually _his_ idea, not mine," he answered, gesturing to Zechs. "He wanted to do something unique, and this was the first thing that came to mind. Wufei wanted to be here, but he and Sally were sent on a mission yesterday." He chuckled. "We've obviously been hanging around Quatre too long, guys. I think we've all gone and completely ruined our reputations." Everyone laughed when Quatre blushed again, unable to come up with a response to that.

"Whatever the reason," Relena said, leaning toward him, "I'm glad you did it. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

"Me, either."

**

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AN:

Well, that was fun! If you liked it, hated it, didn't care for it, whatever, let me know! Remember, though, that flames are for toasting marshmallows, not making good writers. Constructive criticism is all right, though. Review, and let me know what you think! 


End file.
